It is well known that in multi-layer color photographic light-sensitive materials of the type that a silver halide photographic light-sensitive emulsion contains a color-forming coupler and development is performed using color developing agents such as para-phenylenediamine, an oxidized color developing agent formed at the time of the development transfers into the adjacent image-forming layer, causing the phenomenon of "color turbidity or color mixing", i.e., the formation of undesirable dyes. It is also known that at the time of color development the undesirable phenomenon of "color fog" is caused to occur by air oxidation of the developing agent, fog of the emulsion, and so forth.
The term "color stain" is used herein to include both the "color turbidity" and "color fog" as described above.
In order to prevent color stain, it has been proposed to use hydroquinones. Thus, various hydroquinones have heretofore been known, including mono-straight chain alkylhydroquinones as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,728,659 and Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 106329/74 (the term "OPI" as used herein means a "published unexamined Japanese patent application"), mono-branched chain alkylhydroquinones as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,453, West German Patent Laid-Open No. 2,149,789, and Japanese Patent Application (OPI) Nos. 156438/75 and 106329/74, di-straight chain alkylhydroquinones as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,728,659 and 2,732,300, British Pat. Nos. 752,146 and 1,086,208, and Chemical Abstract, vol. 58, 6367h, and di-branched chain alkylhydroquinones as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,700,453 and 2,732,300, British Pat. No. 1,086,208, Chemical Abstract, vol. 58, 6367h, Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 156438/75, and Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 21249/75 and 40818/81.
The use of alkylhydroquinones as color stain inhibitors is described also in British Pat. Nos. 558,258, 557,750 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 2,360,290) and 557,802, 731,301 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 2,701,197), U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,336,327, 2,403,721 and 3,582,333, West German Patent Laid-Open No. 2,505,016 (corresponding to Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 110337/75), and Japanese Patent Publication No. 40816/81.
It is known that even in color diffusion transfer photographic light-sensitive materials, the "color turbidity" phenomenon occurs as in the usual color photographic light-sensitive material. In order to prevent this phenomenon, hydroquinones as described above are utilized. For example, hydroquinones which are used as color turbidity inhibitors in the diffusion transfer light-sensitive materials are described in Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 21249/83.
Sulfonamidophenols can also be used as color turbidity inhibitors for the diffusion transfer light-sensitive materials, as described in Research Disclosure, 15162 (1973), page 83, Japanese Patent Application (OP) Nos. 72158/80 and 24941/82 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,226).
In recent production of color photographic light-sensitive materials, to obtain higher quality color photographs, it has been strongly desired to develop new color stain inhibitors which (1) are able to more efficiently prevent color stain without causing a reduction in photographic sensitivity, (2) can be used in light-sensitive materials reduced in thickness for the purpose of improving sharpness, (3) are not subject to any significant change in performance even after a long-term storage, and (4) which contribute to an improvement in light fastness of dye images formed by color development.